


All in the Family: Side A: Growing Pains

by Ricky B (littletoes101)



Series: All in the Family [1]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Human Names Used, Mpreg, Multi, Second Generation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-23
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2019-02-06 02:04:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12807222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littletoes101/pseuds/Ricky%20B
Summary: The nations having kids and them growing up. That's basically what this is, self-indulgence mixed in with fluff and teenage drama.





	1. RusPru, UsUk, and Franada

**Author's Note:**

> did I really need to write this? no. am I writing it anyway? you betcha!
> 
> each chapter will focus on three different families.
> 
> currently looking for a beta for this fic so hit me up if you're interested. also I use their human names here, but they are still countries!

“Mutti!”

The call of his middle child rang out through the air. Gilbert shoved his head under his pillow.

“Mutti!”

There it was again, and yet again, Gilbert tried to ignore it. Maybe if he ignored it, she’d go back to sleep…

“ _MUTTI_!”

Nope, there was no getting out of it now. Whatever it was, it obviously demanded Gilbert’s immediate attention. The ex-nation groaned and rolled over in his bed, preparing to get up, before a large hand being placed on the small of his back stopped him.

“I will tend to her,” Ivan yawned. He lifted his head up from his pillow and smiled at Gilbert. It was slightly unnerving. But, if his husband wanted to get up at four A.M. to tend to their daughter, Gilbert wasn’t about to protest.

Ivan got out of bed, and for a few moments, Gilbert had peace and quiet. Then, he looked up when Ivan re-entered the room, holding Anastasia — their only daughter — in his arms. The ten year old’s red eyes were wet with tears, and Gilbert sighed softly as he sat up.

“What happened?” He asked Ivan.

“A bad dream,” Ivan replied, handing their daughter to Gilbert as easily as he had when she had been much smaller. Gilbert took her, settling her in his lap as he straightened his back against the headboard of the bed.

“Mein liebling,” Gilbert sighed, running his hand through her stark white hair. Oh, she looked so much like him. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

“I — I had that scary dream again,” Anastasia whimpered. “The one where — you died, Mutti.”

“Oh.” Recently, Anastasia had been having a recurring nightmare, and Gilbert was at a loss with how to deal with it. If he was going to die, he would’ve died a long time ago, when Germany had been united. And Lovino was still alive, and Italy had been united much longer than Germany had…

“Well, I’m right here, and still awesome, aren’t I?” Gilbert said, hugging his daughter close. “So there’s nothing to worry about. I’m fine.”

“But — but — but what if something hurts you, Mutti?” Anastasia whined, rubbing at her eyes furiously.

“Nothing will hurt him, as long as I am here,” Ivan said, sliding into bed next to his husband and daughter. “I made a vow to love and protect your mother a long time ago.”

“Vati…” Anastasia held her arms out towards her father, and Gilbert let her go so she could climb over to him. “You promise you’ll protect Mutti no matter what?”

Ivan smiled, but this time it was much warmer. “Of course. I love your mother.” He kissed Anastasia on the head, then rubbed her cheek with his thumb. “Now, let’s get back to sleep. We have meetings in the morning.”

Anastasia nodded, and curled between her parents in the bed. Gilbert couldn’t help but smile as he pulled the blankets up and tucked her in carefully.

“I’ll keep those nasty nightmares from coming back,” Gilbert said as he tucked her in. “Goodnight, little one.”

They could at least get a few more hours of sleep.

* * *

 

Morning came much too quickly for Arthur.

His green eyes fluttered open as the first rays of sunlight made their way through the blinds, illuminating him and the shape of his husband on the bed. Alfred snored away, blissfully unaware of anything else in the world. Arthur could hear the children squealing and pans clanging downstairs, and he sighed. As much as he wanted to stay in bed with his husband, he knew he had to get up.

“Alfred?” Arthur said softly, pushing on the American’s shoulder. “Alfred, wake up, love. We’ve got a busy day today.”

“Mmm… it’s just Thursday,” Alfred mumbled, pulling the covers over his head. Arthur was, honestly, surprised that he remembered the day of the week. “Are the kids up?”

“Yes, they’re… doing something downstairs,” Arthur replied. “I’ve got to go check on them.”

“No, no, you stay in bed,” Alfred said quickly, starting to push himself out of bed. He sat up on his knees, reaching over to touch the curve of his husband’s stomach. “You gotta — rest.” His words were punctuated by a long yawn.

“As much as I’d love to do that, there’s a lot that needs to be done today,” Arthur told him. “Remember? It’s your Thanksgiving, and we decided at the last meeting we’d all meet here.”

“Oh… oh, right!” Alfred jumped out of bed suddenly, clad in nothing but his boxers. “I’ll go get the kids ready, and you — whatever you do, don’t cook!”

“Get dressed first,” Arthur muttered, sighing as he finally made his way out of bed.

Once they had both gotten dressed, they made their way downstairs, where chaos was unfolding.

“Mum, Dad, please help,” Amel, their oldest, pleaded breathlessly. He held Damien, their youngest child, in his arms, handing him off to Alfred when he held his arms out for him. “They wanted to make breakfast.”

“Well, did they? I’m starving,” Alfred chirped. Arthur elbowed him sharply in the ribs, careful to avoid their son in his arms. “Ouch!”

“What did they break?” Arthur sighed. It was clear that the two had very different priorities.

“They managed to make some pancakes, Berenice just got cereal though, it’s what they did to the kitchen…” Amel put a hand to his forehead, and Arthur reached over to rub his shoulders.

“It’s alright, dear, we’ll take care of it. And remember, we have to go pick up your medicine later today. You can drive me, if you’d like.”

The sixteen year old perked up immediately. “Alright!”

“Artie!” Alfred called from where he’d walked into the kitchen. “We’re gonna need all hands on deck in here; line up, kids!”

Altogether, Alfred and Arthur had seven children, not counting the eighth that had yet to be born. As crazy as their life was, Arthur honestly couldn’t imagine it any other way. Currently, at Alfred’s order, all seven of the children had lined up (once Amel came over and Alfred put Damien back on the ground).

“Alright, listen, I know you wanted to make a nice breakfast, but now the kitchen’s a mess and we’ve got guests coming over later so we’ve gotta get this place looking nice! Got it?”

“Yes, Dad,” the children echoed. Arthur gave a sigh of relief; it looked like today was going to be one of those days where the children actually paid attention and listened. Or perhaps Alfred just had a way with them that Arthur simply didn’t. After all, many of them represented Alfred’s states, and had inherited Alfred’s personality.

“Alright, let’s get to cleaning,” Alfred announced. “Then afterwards we can all go get ice cream!”

Oh, great.

* * *

 

“Rheanna? Hey, Rheanna, wake up.”

The blonde girl slowly opened one blue eye to stare into her sister’s paler blue-violet ones. Maria stood over Rheanna’s bed, chewing on her thumbnail nervously.

“What do you want?” Rheanna mumbled.

“Cover for me, will you? Tell Mama and Papa I was in bed all night,” Maria whispered.

“Mmm… why should I? You going somewhere?” A mischievous gleam entered Rheanna’s eyes. “Maybe you’re finally taking my advice and taking your life into your own hands, eh?”

“No,” Maria hissed, blushing furiously. “I mean — kind of? I already went, I just — I know Papa would throw a fit if he knew I was seeing a boy!”

“You’re seeing a _boy_?” Rheanna purred, sitting up in bed. “Is he cute?”

“Why do you care, you have Emma,” Maria muttered. “But, if you must know, he’s very cute. And he’s very much mine!” She clasped her hands over her mouth when the last words came out louder than expected, and she looked over her shoulder nervously.

“Alright, fine, I’ll cover for you. But you’re gonna owe me,” Rheanna said, preparing to get back under her covers and go back to sleep. Just as she was, however, a voice stopped both of them in their tracks.

“Good to see you two finally working together.”

Both Rheanna and Maria’s heads snapped up to see their parents standing in the doorway, Matthew, their mother, wearing an uncharacteristic look of annoyance and anger on his face. And Francis, their father, looking more like he’d been dragged there than anything else, because he still looked tired.

“M-Mama,” the twins said quietly, Maria smiling nervously and Rheanna fighting the urge to sink under her covers.

“Maria, you are in _big_ trouble young lady,” Matthew said, his voice still quiet as ever, but loaded dangerously. “How could you sneak out without telling us where you were going, and do you know what time it is? It’s four in the morning. Have you been out with a boy this whole time?”

“W-well, it wasn’t _just_ me,” Maria protested. “Teddy went there with me, and — um…”

“Teddy? It isn’t like him to sneak out,” Francis said, running a hand through his hair.

Teddy — Theodore — was Alfred and Arthur’s second oldest, and he wasn’t known to cause trouble. It was definitely odd that he would sneak out.

Matthew sighed. “Where did you go, and with whom?”

“We just hung out by the school,” Maria said softly. “M-me and my — boyfriend.”

“ _Boyfriend_?!” Now it was Francis’s turn to freak out. “How long have you had this _boyfriend_?”

“It’s our, um… two month anniversary?” Maria grinned sheepishly. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, I just thought —”

“Oh, mon amour, they grow up so fast!” And now he looked like he was about to cry. Maria and Rheanna looked at each other and sighed. “My little angel has a boyfriend, soon she will have a husband!”

“Francis, she’s thirteen,” Matthew said. “She won’t be getting married for a very long time.”

“I’m sorry for sneaking out, really, but I’m tired now,” Maria said softly. “Can I go to bed?”

“You’re still in trouble,” Matthew said quickly, before his daughter could get any other ideas. “But, yes, you can go to bed. And Rheanna, you’re in trouble too.”

“But why?” Rheanna whined.

“Because you were going to hide it from us,” Matthew stated simply. “We’re going over to your Uncle’s house in the mor — later, and if you’re on your best behavior I’ll think about letting you off the hook.”

“Yes, Mama,” both girls sighed. Maria went to her own bed, then, and Rheanna pulled the covers over her head. Maria rolled her eyes as she heard Francis outside of the door saying “a _boyfriend_ ” repeatedly. Maria would be fine.

Francis would need some time.


	2. GerIta, TurGree, ChuNi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just as a quick note, Germany and Italy's son possibly being autistic isn't just like. something thrown in there for angst. I put it there because I'm autistic and representation is fun so there he is~

Feliciano loved all of his children, he really, really did. After all, he and Ludwig made such beautiful babies, how could he not love them? Even so, sometimes he had to remind himself of this, especially when one child in particular decided it was time to misbehave.

“Aloysius, it’s time to come down,” Feliciano said to his youngest son, who was currently perched on top of the refrigerator. “We have to get you dressed, little one!”

“Nein!” Aloysius replied firmly, wriggling a bit in his position. “I don’t wanna!”

“But Mama needs you to! We’re going to leave any minute now,” Feliciano called back.

“I don’t wanna wear the fancy clothes,” Aloysius whined. “I don’t like them, they’re itchy and make me cry!”

Feliciano sighed heavily. Aloysius had always had a problem with textures in clothing, specifically, in the nice clothing he was supposed to be wearing to Alfred and Arthur’s house today.

“I know you don’t like them, sweetie, but —”

“I won’t wear them!” Aloysius scooted back farther on the top of the fridge, and Feliciano gave a heaving sigh.

“Okay, okay! We can find something else for you to wear, but please come down for Mama?” Feliciano held out his arms for his son, and Aloysius appeared to think about his options for a moment.

“…okay, Mama,” Aloysius finally said, sliding forward and allowing his mother to catch him and pull him back down to the floor.

Just as he did, Ludwig came down from the stairs, smoothing his hair back with one final rub with his hands. Emmeline, their oldest, was following after him, dark red-brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, that one stubborn curl still sticking out on the side of her head. Sal followed her, dressed in the frilliest dress she could find, and behind her came Romulus, nearly tripping down the stairs.

“So you finally got him down? I’m surprised you didn’t need my help this time,” Ludwig stated, walking over to his husband and putting an arm around his waist. He leaned down for a kiss, and Feliciano eagerly met him, to which Aloysius stuck out his tongue and made a gagging sound.

“I told him he didn’t have to wear the… um… fanciest stuff we picked out,” Feliciano said quietly. “He’ll still look nice! I’m just going to dress him in something… else.”

“Feli,” Ludwig sighed as Feliciano set Aloysius down for the moment. “You can’t keep giving in to him, he’ll get too used to it and won’t listen to you.”

“But Ludi…” And here Feliciano lowered his voice for once, “What if he’s…”

Ludwig paused. They had considered the possibility of Aloysius being autistic for a few months now, ever since they had started to notice the similarities between him and Damien, Alfred and Arthur’s youngest, who had been diagnosed when he was only three. Though nothing was set in stone yet, it was certainly possible.

“Just… make sure he looks alright,” Ludwig finally relented. “I’ll get the others in the car. Try not to take too long?”

“Si, grazie!” Feliciano exclaimed, leaning up to give Ludwig another kiss on the cheek before going back to his son. “Okay, Aloys, let’s go pick something out!”

They would worry about everything else later.

* * *

 

The twin boys, identical save for their differently-colored masks (one red, one white), snuck into their house, opening the door and flinching when it creaked.

“Alright, K.T,” the younger twin, Ferit (otherwise known as F.T), whispered to his older brother, Kudret. “We should be fine. Just remember to skip the third step, right?”

“Yeah,” Kudret (otherwise known as K.T) whispered back. “Let’s hurry up and get to bed, hopefully Mari’s still asleep…”

Just as they were making their way up the stairs, their mother’s voice stopped them. “K.T! I know you’re there, get down here right now.” A pause. “You too, F.T.” F.T, who had dropped to all fours upon hearing his mother’s voice, groaned as he stood back up and followed his brother back down the stairs.

Hercales stood there, wearing his nightclothes and kitten slippers, tapping one foot irritably on the floor. It was rare to see their mother angry, and both boys gave guilty smiles as they approached.

“You boys are in very big trouble,” he growled. “Where have you been all night? Your Baba and I were worried sick.”

“Oh, did Baba cry again?” F.T whined, pulling his hoodie down over his face. “Geez, it’s not like we died…”

“Don’t try to change the subject,” Hercales warned.

“They were sneaking out to see their lovers~” A new voice chimed in from the top of the stairs. Marianna, their younger sister, flounced down the stairs, doing a little twirl when she reached the bottom. “I heard them when I was pretending to be asleep!”

“Mari!” K.T hissed.

“ _ Lovers _ ? What lovers?” Hercales asked, sounding a bit shocked. “Well… with the way you two fight over girls, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised…”

“I shouldn’t tell you who we’re dating, they asked not to tell,” F.T said, looking away from his mother.

“Are you dating the same person?” Hercales asked, confused.

“No!” Both boys said quickly.

“Well, we both did fight over Maria for a while, but it turned out she loved F.T anyway, so — oops,” K.T said, then covered his mouth with his hands as he realized what he’d just let slip.

“Maria? Francis and Matthew’s daughter?” Hercales put a hand to his temple and rubbed. “Gods… I always wondered why you gave your cat an English name, F.T.”

“Good job, bigmouth,” F.T hissed, elbowing his brother harshly in the ribs. “Please don’t let them know you know! I don’t think her father could handle the shock.”

Hercales sighed, then looked at K.T. “And what about you? Who’s the girl you’re dating?”

“Well… for starters, he’s not a girl,” K.T mumbled. “But — his parents don’t know about us either.”

“I wanna know! I wanna know! Tell me!” Marianna said, launching herself from the stairs and pulling on her brothers’ hoodie strings.

“Mari, go back to bed,” Hercales sighed flatly. “It’s four in the morning, and we have somewhere to go later. Unfortunately.”

Marianna huffed, but listened to her mother, stomping back up the stairs. Then, Hercales looked back at his twin boys.

“I’ll deal with you when your Baba wakes up,” he said, waving a hand. “Go upstairs and get to bed.”

The boys were quick to follow their sister up the stairs, and Hercales gave one final sigh. He just wanted to get back to sleep.

* * *

 

“Zheng? Zheng, are you awake?”

The brown haired boy huffed in his sleep, rolling over to face his twin sister, who was staring at him intently with brown eyes.

“What is it, Akane?” Zheng asked, rubbing at his eyes as he sat up in bed.

“Okaa-san and Baba told us to get up at six,” Akane said, pointing at the analog clock on the wall. It was exactly six A.M. “But they aren’t up yet.”

“We shouldn’t wake them up,” Zheng told her, falling back into his pillows. “Let’s get some more sleep…”

Ignoring her brother’s advice, Akane jumped down out of the bed, dressed in her little silk nightgown. Her bare feet padded across the wooden floor towards the door of their bedroom.

“I want to see Romulus today,” Akane said simply. “So I need them to get up.”

“Over my dead body!” Suddenly, Zheng was out of bed as well, running over to the door. “He’s not worthy of you, Akane, and I’m going to prove it!”

Akane giggled at her brother’s behavior. “I knew I could get you out of bed that way,” she said as they walked out of the room and towards their parents’ room across the hallway.

Lifting her tiny fist, Akane knocked thrice at the door before she opened it, peering inside curiously.

Yao and Kiku were both sleeping soundly in the bed. Key word being “were”, because as soon as Akane jumped onto the foot of the bed, followed closely by Zheng, their short time of being asleep was over.

“Okaa-san, Baba, time to wake up,” both Akane and Zheng chirped.

“Ah — good morning, children,” Kiku yawned, sitting up and pulling his daughter into his arms. He gave her a kiss on the head, then ruffled her hair lovingly. “We did tell you to be up early, did we not?”

“Aiya,” Yao mumbled, rubbing at his eyes as he sat up. Zheng fell into his lap and held out his arms expectantly, so Yao gave him a small hug. “You children have so much energy! I wish I could be young like you again.”

“But then you wouldn’t be our Baba anymore,” Zheng said seriously, clinging tightly to his father. “And we’d all be sad.”

Yao couldn’t help but give a little laugh at that. “Of course, you’re right! What was I thinking?” He smiled, then leaned over to give Kiku a kiss on the cheek. “You know, your Okaa-san and I met when we were young!”

Akane gasped. “Just like me and Romulus?”

“Romulus and I,” Kiku corrected. He noticed the way Zheng glared when Romulus’s name was mentioned. “Is something wrong, Zheng?”

“Um… no, Okaa-san,” Zheng said quickly.

“Alright, you two go get dressed, then we’ll have breakfast,” Yao said, gently placing Zheng on the ground.

“Yes, Baba,” the twins echoed obediently, Akane jumping down after her brother and running off.

“At least they are good listeners,” Kiku sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Do you think Zheng might be a little… jealous?”

Yao chuckled. “Oh, yes, definitely. Akane is his little sister, of course he would be jealous! But they are only seven, we don’t need to worry about them right now.” He leaned over again to nuzzle his husband affectionately. “How long do you think it will take them to get dressed?”

“A while,” Kiku replied, wrapping his arms around Yao’s neck. “Shall we?”

Getting dressed could happen later.


	3. Spamano, HunBelLiech, AusSwiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the next chapter will be the last intro chapter, and will only have two families since i can't count!

“Cipriano~”

Antonio’s voice floated musically down the hallway. Cipriano forced herself deeper into the closet she was hiding in.

“Cipriano, darling, come out for Papa! I have your cutest little dress here, I can’t wait to see you in it~”

Normally, this wouldn’t have bothered Cipriano, but now that she was nine, something had begun to change and blossom within her. Something that made her want to gather up all of her fancy dresses and burn them.

Such a thing usually would have her feeling sick. She loved her Papa, and everything he gave her, including the dresses. And her Mama always thought she looked so cute in them, too. But now?

Now Cipriano wanted nothing to do with anything even remotely girly. The worst part was, she wasn’t even sure why she felt that way.

In a fit of rage last night, she had cut her hair off to her chin. It had been so long before, and heavy, that it almost felt like a chain around her head. She still had yet to tell her parents or even show them. Although she had never had any reason to fear them (as snippy as her mother could be), Cipriano still feared how they would react.

She would have to do something eventually, though, and she sighed as she opened the closet door and stepped out.

“I’m here, Papa,” she called out down the hallway.

Antonio, who previously had his back turned to her, turned around to face her. “Ah, Cici, there you are! Why were you…” His voice trailed off as he fully took in her appearance. His eyes widened.

And then, he smiled.

“Oh, Cici, did you do that yourself? You look so cute with short hair!” Putting the dress he was holding on his shoulder, he walked over to Cipriano and gave her a huge bear hug. “But I wish you had told me, so we could go to that hair place we like so much!”

Cipriano’s eyes watered with tears as she shakily hugged her father back. “I-I-I…” She stuttered, not knowing exactly what it was she was trying to say. “Papa…”

“Antonio, you’d better be getting Cipriano ready, if we’re late because of you…” Lovino called out down the hallway, stomping into view, his usual scowl on his face. As soon as he saw his husband and daughter embracing, however, and noticed Cipriano’s hair, his expression changed. “Cici! You cut your hair!”

“Si, Mama, I did,” Cipriano said, wiping the tears from her eyes. Lovino raced over, crouching down and cupping her chin in his hands as he inspected her. “I…I didn’t like my long hair anymore. I just wanted it to go away.”

“Well…” Lovino looked deep in thought for a moment. “It looks good on you. But you still need to get dressed.”

“I don’t want to wear any of my dresses,” Cipriano stated firmly as Antonio finally let her go. “Do… do you and Papa have anything different I can wear?”

“Oh! Lovi, I have the perfect thing for her to wear!” Antonio announced as he hopped up. “Remember that cute little suit you used to wear when you were little? She can wear that!”

“Alright, just don’t tell anyone it used to be mine, got it?” Lovino muttered.

Cipriano felt her heart swell with joy for the first time since the night before, and she had a feeling that everything would turn out alright.

* * *

 

“Lilli,” Elizaveta said, looking over her shoulder and away from her daughter for the moment. Valeria wriggled in her seat in front of her mother, disrupting Elizaveta’s attempts to get her pigtails straight for once. “Could you please get Fima for me? He might be hungry again.”

“Of course!” Lilli got up from the couch, walked over to give Valeria a little kiss on the forehead, before leaving the room to get her, Natalya, and Elizaveta’s infant son from his room.

Natalya, who was spread out on the couch, sighed heavily. “Thank you, Eliza, he gave me no sleep last night.”

“I know, I know,” Elizaveta replied, tying a ribbon tight around one of Valeria’s pigtails. “But he’s only three months old, things will get easier as he gets older. This little one—” and here she poked Valeria in the side with her free hand, causing her to giggle, “—didn’t sleep through the night until she was three.”

“But I’m a big girl now, right Anya?” Valeria chirped as Elizaveta tightened the second ribbon around the other pigtail. Her beige bangs fell into her eyes as she twisted around to look at her mother (thankfully, after the ribbon had been secured). “I’m five!”

“I know, sweetheart,” Elizaveta replied, picking Valeria up from the chair she had been in and hugging her tight. “Your Uncle Gilbert will be so surprised when he sees you, you’ve gotten so big!”

Lilli came back in the room, then, holding Fima in her arms. The silver-haired infant whimpered softly, tiny fists clutching one of her fingers tight.

“I changed him, but I think you’re right, he’s probably hungry,” she said, handing him off to Elizaveta once she put Valeria down. “Shall I get him a bottle?”

“Yes, please, there’s milk in the fridge,” Elizaveta told her, leaning down to give her smaller wife a quick kiss before she ran off to the kitchen. Elizaveta made her way over to the couch, sitting down and giving Natalya a kiss as well. Valeria jumped up on the couch and wriggled between them, beaming with glee when both of her mothers paid attention to her.

“How come Fima cries all the time?” Valeria asked. “He’s always crying. When will he stop?”

“Not for a while, little one,” Natalya replied. “He is only a baby, and babies cry. You cried too, when you were his age.”

“Oh… well why doesn’t he just say he’s hungry?” Valeria asked seriously. “Mama, you always tell me to use my words.”

“Because babies can’t talk yet,” Natalya answered. “He will when he gets older, though.”

“Well… Damien doesn’t talk. And he’s five like me,” Valeria stated. “How come he doesn’t talk?”

“Damien is different,” Elizaveta said this time, gently rocking Fima in her arms when he started to fuss again. “But he can write, and uses his phone to talk sometimes.”

“Oh.” Valeria looked up as Lilli came back with a bottle, then handed it to Elizaveta. “Mutti, is it time to get in the car now?”

“Almost,” Lilli smiled. Fima took his bottle without much fuss, sucking on it as though he was starving. “Eliza? Natalya?”

“I’ll help,” Natalya finally said, getting up off of the couch and stretching. She grinned as she reached down, grabbing Valeria and twirling her around a safe distance away from the couch. “Let’s go to the car, Valeria! I’ll race you!”

“You go on ahead, I’ll finish feeding him,” Elizaveta murmured, giving Lilli another kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.”

Lilli smiled and blushed. “You’re welcome.”

Their family might not have been traditional in any sense of the word, but Elizaveta wouldn’t have it any other way.

* * *

“Jehona? I hate to say this, darling, but you have to leave the piano for now. Your Vati is being huffy and we all know how that goes,” Rodreich called to one of his daughters, who was sitting on the piano bench, running her fingers over the keys.

“I am not being huffy, you’re being slow!” Vash yelled back from another room. “I told you we should’ve gotten up an hour earlier, that way we wouldn’t have to rush around last minute!”

“Who’s rushing? I’m not rushing, and you know I get winded easily,” Rodreich said simply.

Jehona finally looked up from the piano and sighed. “I don’t want to go, Mutti.”

“Well, we already told Alfred and Arthur we were coming, so we have to go,” Rodreich stated. “Besides, Emmeline is going to be there.” Rodreich knew full well about the crush his older daughter had on Ludwig and Feliciano’s oldest, and he smiled when her face suddenly got very red.

“I know, but… I don’t feel good,” Jehona admitted. Her violet eyes avoided her mother’s; she really was his spitting image, right down to the hair curl and glasses. She could have been her mother, truly. “It’s my stomach.”

“Do you have a fever?” Rodreich strode over to her, pressing the back of his hand to her forehead for a moment before pulling back. “Hmm, no… what’s wrong, darling?”

“I feel all… crampy, and weird,” Jehona said, curling in on herself a bit. “Emma told me not to worry about it, but…”

“But?” Rodreich questioned, letting the question hang unanswered in the air.

Jehona gulped, and then leaned forward to whisper in his ear. Rodreich’s eyes grew wide.

“Oh-oh, darling, there’s nothing to worry about,” Rodreich said, smiling as he patted Jehona on the head. “We’ll just go by the store on the way there and get some stuff to help you out. Alright?”

“Okay…” Jehona’s face was still red as she shyly met her mother’s eyes. “Mutti, are you sure there’s nothing to worry about? Do you think Emme will think I’m… dirty?”

“Oh, of course not! And if she did, that would be quite silly of her. This is something normal for girls your age,” Rodreich said, leaning over to carefully hug his daughter. “In fact, I was wondering when you would come to me with something like this. Do you feel a little better now?”

Jehona nodded slowly. “A little bit. But it still hurts.”

“The medicine will help, and it shouldn’t make you sleepy either.” Rodreich stroked her hair lovingly, admiring her dark locks. His daughter really was starting to grow into a beautiful young lady. “Now, let’s go get in the car with your Vati before he has an aneurysm. Alright?”

“Alright,” Jehona replied, sliding off of the piano bench and following her mother out to the car. “Oh, Mutti?” She asked, pausing right outside of the door.

“Yes?” Rodreich said, tilting his head over his shoulder to look at his daughter.

Jehona smiled. “Thank you.”

 


	4. SuFin, DenNor, LietPol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so introductions are officially done!!! next chapter begins the official "meat" of the story!

“Aiti.”

Upon hearing his three-year-old son call him, Tino turned away from where he’d been ironing one of Berwald’s shirts and crouched down with some difficulty to be on eye-level with Jerker. “Yes? What is it, Jerker?”

The odd-eyed boy held out his stuffed rabbit. “Kanin got dirty. Fix him?” His round eyes reflected worry, and Tino smiled, reaching out to rub his head.

“Of course, darling! Where’s he dirty?” Tino asked, standing up and rubbing his lower back as he did. He was now six months pregnant with his and Berwald’s second child, and while he honestly couldn’t be happier, he wished the child didn’t have such a fascination with kicking him in the spine all the time.

“Right here.” Jerker pointed at a small spot of dirt on the stuffed rabbit’s fluffy chest. “It… stör mig (bothers me).” He momentarily forgot the words he was searching for in Finnish, and finished his sentence in Swedish instead.

Luckily for him, his mother had spent enough time with his father now to know what he meant. “I’ll fix him up.” Gently, Tino took the rabbit from Jerker and walked over to the kitchen, taking a clean washcloth and dampening it. With ease, he rubbed the small patch of dirt off of the rabbit’s chest, dried it with a dry washcloth, and handed it back to his son. “There! Good as new.”

Jerker hugged the rabbit close to his chest. “Thank you, Aiti. Minä rakastan sinua (I love you).”

“Minäkin rakastan sinua, Jerker (I love you too),” Tino said, crouching down again to give his son a quick kiss.

“Cute,” Berwald spoke from behind him, a slight redness to his face. Before, Tino would’ve jumped out of his skin at the man coming up behind him like that, but now he gave a smile. He’d lived with Berwald long enough now to know his husband’s habits inside and out. Jerker was unaffected by his father’s sudden appearance, as well.

“Pappa,” Jerker said, still stoic as ever as he held his arms out for Berwald to pick him up, which he did. The smallest of smiles appeared on Berwald’s face as he held his little boy. “Aiti fixed Kanin.”

“Did you say thank you?” Berwald asked. When Jerker nodded, he looked at Tino out of the corner of his eye, silently asking if he was right. Tino smiled in response. “Alright. Uncle Mathias and Uncle Lukas are coming over soon, and then we’re going to go.”

“To the party?” Jerker asked. “Will Mari be there?”

Tino and Berwald shared a soft chuckle at that. They were both very aware of the little girl’s crush on their son. “Yes, dear,” Tino said. “She and her big brothers will be there.”

Jerker fidgeted with his thumbs. “Okay… I think I can deal with that.” He said the words so seriously, that even Berwald couldn’t help from smiling.

“Of course you can,” Berwald said simply. Then, he turned to Tino. “You should sit until they come, and get off your feet.”

“You know I’ll be fine,” Tino smiled. “But, if it’ll help you to not worry, then I’ll come sit with you.”

Taking his husband’s hand with his free one, Berwald led his family over to the couch. He could never show it, because that was just the kind of man he was, but moments like this made his chest feel like it might burst with happiness.

* * *

 

“Mama! Mama!”

Lukas turned just as both of his children — his seven year old daughter, and five year old son — ran into his arms, giggling and squealing. Though they were dressed in fancy clothing, neither seemed to notice or care as they wriggled about and got behind their mother.

“Henriette, Jonatan, what has gotten into you?” He asked, though he knew he really didn’t need to, because the answer would come to him sooner or later.

Today, it came sooner rather than later. Lukas sighed as he heard Mathias’s voice coming from down the hallway.

“Roar! Where are the naughty little kids? The big monster is coming to eat them up!” The blonde made his way around the corner of the hallway, and the children laughed again, unable to keep themselves quiet even as they ‘hid’ behind their mother.

“Mathias,” Lukas muttered, narrowing his eyes at his husband. He started to walk over to him, though the process was made a bit more difficult by his children clinging to his legs and waist. “You were supposed to be getting them ready. We need to leave for Tino and Berwald’s soon.”

“Aww, can’t we have a little fun first?” Mathias asked, giving his best pouting face. “You can be the brave knight who slays the scary monster!”

“Yes, Mama, save us from Papa-I mean the monster!” Henriette giggled, hiding her face behind Lukas.

Lukas rolled his eyes, before lunging forward, grabbing Mathias in his arms, and expertly pinning the Dane to the ground. He and their children fell in a laughing, giggling heap, and even Lukas couldn’t keep himself from giving a small chuckle.

“Children saved, monster defeated,” Lukas said proudly. Mathias grinned up at his husband, reaching up to put one hand on his shoulder. “Happy now?”

“Very!” Mathias sat up, and Jonatan fell into his lap as he did, followed quickly by Henriette, leaving the two of them and their mother balancing in his lap. “That was real good, you pinned me so fast this time!”

“Yes, and I can pin you even faster,” Lukas mumbled, eyes flashing at Mathias. “But, before that happens, we need to get moving. Tino and Berwald won’t wait for us forever.”

“Alright, kids, fun’s over… for now,” Mathias said when he noticed the sad looks on his children’s faces. “But we can have even more fun when we go to Alfred and Arthur’s place! Won’t that be cool?”

“Will we get to play American football again?” Henriette asked excitedly. “I remember last time, Alfred tackled you so hard you chipped a tooth, Papa! It was funny! Did the tooth fairy ever come for it?”

“Tooth fairies don’t come for big guys like me,” Mathias said as he stood up. “But don’t you worry, your Mama took care of me and that’s all the payment I needed!”

“I won’t be taking care of you if it happens this time, so choose wisely,” Lukas said. Even so, he still pulled his husband down for a kiss, to which Mathias eagerly obliged. “Now, let’s get to the car. We have places to be.”

* * *

 

“Toris! She’s like, totally looking at you.”

Toris turned around from where he’d been adjusting his tie to look at his husband, who was crouched on the floor with their six month old twin daughters. One of them, Malina, was staring intently at her father with wide green eyes, sucking on her fist idly.

Feliks looked as proud as ever of his little girl. “Look at that! She really is, isn’t she?”

“She is adorable,” Toris chuckled, finishing his adjustments before walking over to his husband and daughters. His other daughter, Laima, was lying on her stomach on the soft blanket they’d laid out on the floor. They had just started learning how to crawl, but at the moment, Laima seemed more interested in taking a nap. Malina was definitely the more active of the two so far.

The children had been something of a surprise. While Feliks had been pestering Toris for children once the other nations started to have them, they hadn’t been actively trying. Toris had figured it was just another one of the Polish nation’s temporary obsessions, which would fade with time. However, a few months later, they both got a huge shock when they found out that Feliks was pregnant, and then yet another shock a little while later when they discovered that they’d be having not one, but two little girls.

Still, Toris wouldn’t trade them for the world, and he cooed softly to Malina as he picked her up, cradling her gently in his arms. “That’s my little star. You love your tėtis, don’t you?” She gave a few happy gurgles in response, and Toris decided to take that as a yes.

“I could watch them all day,” Feliks sighed dreamily, propping his chin in his hands as he laid down on his stomach. “They are so cute!”

“Just wait until they start causing trouble,” Toris chuckled, wincing as Malina grabbed a fistful of his chestnut brown hair and tugged. He gently pulled her hand out of his hair. “We’ll be wishing they could stay this way forever, then. And then they’ll be teenagers…”

Toris trailed off, and Feliks made a pouting face. “Don’t say that, you’ll only make them grow up faster!” By now, Laima had woken back up and was demanding attention, letting out a few little whines from where she laid, so Feliks picked her up and cradled her in his arms as well. “If only they could stay this way forever…”

Feliks sighed, and Toris leaned over to kiss his cheek. “Well, we’d better get going soon. They’re going to be expecting us, and I want to see little Fima! I bet he’s gotten so big.”

“Hey, do you think maybe one day, when they get older, they’ll date?” Feliks asked seriously as he stood up. Toris stood alongside him.

“You just told me not to talk about them growing up,” Toris teased, reaching out to poke his husband’s side affectionately. “But, that would be funny, wouldn’t it?” His daughter and Natalya’s son, dating. History repeats itself.

“Yes, but, cute as he may be, if he breaks my little girls’ hearts, I will break him!” Feliks said seriously.

Toris couldn’t stifle his laughter as they made their way to the car.


	5. RusPru, UsUk, Franada

“Anya, I swear, if you don’t stop kicking my seat, so help me I will come back there and —”

“And what?” Anastasia challenged her older brother, narrowing her eyes at him. Nikolas was twisted around in the seat in front of her, staring at her with equally intense red-violet eyes. The tension between the two was palpable.

“Mutti, Anastasia and Niko are fighting again,” Evgeniy called up to his mother, swinging his legs back and forth innocently before hiding his face behind his scarf.

“Snitch,” Anastasia muttered, elbowing her younger brother in the ribs.

“Hey, hey! No fighting,” Gilbert shot back at his squabbling children from the front passenger seat. “I thought we agreed on that?”

“Yes, Mutti,” all three of the children sighed in unison.

“But, tell Anya to stop kicking my seat,” Nikolas said. “It’s really annoying.”

“You know what else is really annoying?” Anastasia started to say, but was cut off with an angry glare from her mother.

“Don’t make me have to come back there,” Gilbert warned one last time, before turning back around and putting his face in his hands. “God, I never thought I’d be the one saying that… I’m starting to sound like West.”

“You are fine, love,” Ivan purred cheerfully. “You are just being a good mother, that’s all!”

Gilbert paused for a moment, crossing his arms over his chest. “Yeah? I am pretty awesome. I got those three to settle down, didn’t I?” He looked over his shoulder once more to see the previously bickering children calmed down now (and staring at their phones). “Or, maybe their phones did the job…”

“Either way, we are grateful for the quiet, da?” Ivan smiled in that way he always did. It was still as unsettling as it had been the first time they met, but Gilbert had warmed up to it well enough.

The children stayed quiet until the car stopped. Immediately, Nikolas was the first to start getting up. He was still a little sore over not getting to drive to Alfred and Arthur’s house; being seventeen, he was well on his way to “maturity” and often felt as though his parents didn’t give him all of the freedoms he thought he deserved.

“Now, hold on, you three,” Gilbert said, causing the children to pause. “No fighting today, I mean it. There is no reason for the yelling and arguing today, got it?”

“Yes, Mutti,” the three children said.

“And if you do fight, then your Vati will punish you. Understood?” Ivan smiled that smile again, and it caused all four of the Beilschmidt-Braginski family members to shudder.

“Yes, Vati,” the children echoed (Gilbert almost caught himself muttering it before he stopped).

“Now, we can go. I know Anya wants to see Daniel,” Gilbert said, smiling as he saw his daughter’s face light up in the back seat. Daniel, the third child of Alfred and Arthur, was her ‘boyfriend’ (because, really, ten year olds couldn’t date, but Gilbert decided to humor his daughter).

“Daniel!” Anastasia squealed in excitement, throwing off her seatbelt and catapulting herself to where Nikolas sat. “Let me out, let me out!”

“Hey! You could at least ask nicely—don’t kick me!” Nikolas replied, opening the car door as he muttered under his breath.

“What was that?” Gilbert shot a dangerous look at the children.

“Nothing, Mutti,” both Nikolas and Anastasia chirped innocently.

“That’s what I thought.”

* * *

 

“Hey, Teddy? Could you come here for a moment?”

Arthur addressed his second-oldest child, motioning for him to come to stand next to him in the hallway. The kitchen had been cleaned before anyone got to the house, thanks to Alfred somehow being able to coordinate the children, and now there were other matters to attend to.

Teddy nodded and walked over to his mother, pausing to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose for a moment. “Yes, Mum? What is it?”

“You didn’t happen to go anywhere last night, did you?” Arthur asked, leaning against the wall.

Immediately, Teddy got nervous, and looked away from his mother’s face. “U-uh… no?”

“Son, you’re terrible at lying,” Alfred said, appearing next to Arthur as if he’d been there the whole time. By now, the other children were engrossed with playing with their cousins, so Teddy felt his parents’ full attention on him. “So just go ahead and tell us the truth, alright?”

“W-well…” Teddy looked down, fiddling with his thumbs. “How… how did you guys know?”

“Francis called me in tears this morning saying his little girl was seeing a boy, and that she’d said you had been with her,” Arthur stated simply.

Alfred stared at his husband quizzically. “You talked with Francis?”

“We can be civil!” Arthur huffed. “Anyway, who were you with last night?”

“Well, uh… I was, uh…” Teddy shuffled his feet. “I was with my boyfriend. Down by the school.”

“Boyfriend?” Both Arthur and Alfred echoed. They exchanged a quick glance, before looking back at their son.

“How long has this boyfriend been in the picture?” Arthur asked.

“Uh… a few months now? I just, uh… I was gonna tell you! We were just waitin’ for the right time,” Teddy explained. “He’ll be here today, if you wanna, uh, meet him.”

“Well, of course we do,” Alfred exclaimed. “You’re the first of our kids to date officially! And no, Daniel doesn’t count, he’s ten. Amel doesn’t count either because he hasn’t officially said he likes Nikolas yet.”

Amel, who happened to be passing by the hallway, hissed “Dad!” in embarrassment as he caught the clipped end of his parents’ conversation. His face was bright red. “Niko’s just a friend!”

“Of course he is,” Alfred said, waving a hand in his direction. “Anyway, you’re definitely in trouble Teddy, ‘cause sneaking out is bad, blah blah blah.”

“Alfred,” Arthur growled threateningly. “This is important.”

“Right, right. So no phones or anything today, got it?” Alfred eyed his son knowingly.

Teddy sighed and nodded. “Got it, Dad.”

“Great! Now I’ve gotta check on the food and make sure the kids don’t get into it yet,” Alfred said, pausing to give Arthur a quick kiss and to ruffle Teddy’s hair.

“Go on, git,” Arthur said playfully, smiling as he watched Alfred go. Then, he turned back to Teddy. “Teddy, we aren’t mad at you for having a boyfriend. Is it a bit… unexpected? Yes, but we aren’t mad about that. We’re upset that you would sneak out without letting us know.”

“I know, I know,” Teddy sighed. “It’s just… he didn’t want anybody to know. I… think he might be embarrassed.”

“Oh, believe me, he’s not embarrassed,” Arthur said. “I know. I didn’t hide your father and I’s relationship for as long as I did because I was embarrassed.”

“You hid it?” Teddy’s eyebrows knitted together with confusion. “But… how’d you get Dad to keep his mouth shut about it?”

“Come to think of it, I’m not sure,” Arthur replied candidly. “But, don’t you worry. Any boyfriend you have who would be embarrassed of you doesn’t deserve you, love.” He leaned over to kiss his son on the cheek. “Go have fun.”

* * *

 

“We’re here! Where’s my favorite cousins?” Rheanna announced as she pranced through the door. Francis followed her, dressed in possibly one of his flashiest outfits, and Maria and Matthew came in after him quietly.

Derrik, the current second-youngest of the Kirkland-Jones family and Damien’s older twin, squealed with excitement and ran up to his cousin, hugging her waist. “Rheanna! You’re here!”

“Yep, it’s me!” Rheanna picked the five-year-old up and twirled him around, then fell back onto the couch as they both laughed. “How’s my coolest cousin?”

“Daddy got me a new watch for my birthday!” Derrik announced, showing off the flashy watch on his wrist. “Isn’t it cool?”

Maria watched her sister and cousin for a moment, before the sound of someone clearing their throat right next to her made her jump in surprise. She whipped her head around to see Teddy standing there, arms crossed.

“O-oh,” she stuttered. “Teddy, hi!”

“Come with me,” he murmured, grabbing her arm and pulling her into a side closet. He shut and locked the door, then leaned against it. The closet was just big enough to comfortably fit two people, and considering Maria was quite small, it wasn’t a tight fit. “Did you rat me out last night?”

“I-I-I didn’t mean to!” Maria said quietly. “It just kind of slipped out!”

“You didn’t tell them who we were dating, did you?” Teddy asked lowly.

“N-no! I knew that K.T and F.T would h-have fits if we said anything,” Maria replied. “So I didn’t tell them who exactly.”

“Well, good. Have you heard from either of ‘em yet?”

“N-no, Mama took my phone,” Maria said sheepishly. “Th-the last text I got was F.T saying they got home safe and sound.”

Teddy sighed, rubbing at his temples in a way that only someone twice his age should have been able to do. “Alright, okay… well, I think we’re safe for now. We’ll probably just have to lay low for a while.”

“Okay, can we—can we get out of the closet now?” Maria asked. “It’s kinda—kinda stuffy in here.”

Teddy nodded. “Yeah, sure.” He unlocked and opened the door, walking out before anyone could really see anything.

Maria sighed with relief, rubbing at her forehead with the back of her hand. By now, Ivan and Gilbert had arrived, and Anastasia was squeezing Daniel like a tiny stress ball. Rheanna had both Derrik and Evgeniy in her lap, and they were eagerly telling her about their day.

“Maria, darling, do you mind helping us with the food?” Matthew called softly from the kitchen. Maria caught herself looking expectantly out of the window, before turning back to her mother and nodding.

“Yes, Mama.” Maria went over to the kitchen, rolling up her sleeves and preparing to wash her hands. She normally loved to help her mother with anything he asked, but now she found herself only wanting to do one thing, and that was wait for her boyfriend to show up.

She wouldn’t have to wait much longer.


	6. GerIta, TurGree, ChuNi

“We’re here! We’re here, we’re here!” Romulus called out excitedly as he burst through the front door of the Kirkland-Jones house. Ludwig winced as he heard the door hit the wall, and he put Aloysius (whom he’d been carrying) on the ground as he stepped over the threshold. On one side of him stood Emmeline, blowing a bubble with her gum as she took her earbuds out of her ears.

“They heard you the first time,” she said flatly to her younger brother, then looked up at Ludwig, though she didn’t have to look far. She was already nearly as tall as he was. “Vati, can I sit outside and wait for J-J?”

“If you want to,” Ludwig sighed. Feliciano, who had been pressed on his other side, beamed with glee when he saw Arthur, and the two embraced. Emmeline quietly slipped out the door from which her family had come through, narrowly missing Sal as she skipped in behind everyone.

“Arthur~” Feliciano purred, hugging the other man carefully. “You look so good! How are you?”

“Fine, thank you,” Arthur greeted. “And you?”

As the two chatted, Alfred trotted up to Ludwig and patted him roughly on the back. “Ludwig! How ya’ been, my man?” He smelled of charcoal. Ludwig gave an uneasy grin.

“Uh… just fine,” Ludwig replied. He was about to say something else, but was cut off when Feliciano flounced over to him.

“Ludi~ do you think we can have another baby? Arthur looks so pretty in maternity clothes!”

Both Ludwig and Arthur sputtered a bit at that, going red-faced (albeit for different reasons). Alfred just laughed heartily.

“F-Feli, we can’t just have another baby because you look good in maternity clothes,” Ludwig said once he finally caught his breath.

“Well why not? I think it’s a good reason,” Feliciano said, puffing his cheeks out a bit.

“We-we’ll talk about it later,” Ludwig finally managed to say. He’d been so engrossed with his husband that he didn’t even notice someone coming up behind him until it was too late.

“West! You should’ve heard me in the car earlier, I sounded just like you,” Gilbert laughed. Ludwig turned around hastily to see his brother standing there with Aloysius in his arms. “Also, your kid is adorable, but he’s very blunt.”

“Oh, Aloys, what did you say?” Ludwig sighed as his son was set down at his feet.

Aloysius looked up at Ludwig with innocent brown eyes. “I told him the truth,” he said candidly. “Uncle Gilbert is getting fat.”

For the second time in the past thirty minutes, Ludwig choked.

“Aloys, you shouldn’t say that,” Feliciano chided gently, crouching down to be at eye-level with his son.

“Well, he is right, sort of,” Gilbert admitted. “I have gained some weight. But we’ve both been slacking off, eh?” He elbowed his younger brother playfully. “I guess we just need to spend some more time together!”

“Ja, sure,” Ludwig said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Anyway, dudes, you should totally sit,” Alfred cut back in, motioning to the couch. “Game’s about to start and the food’s almost done!”

At the word “food,” the hungry eyes of the children were all suddenly on their parents.

“It’s not done yet, it will be soon,” Alfred clarified, and the children released a collective groan.

* * *

 

“You know, you’re being pretty hard on the boys,” Sadiq said idly as he drove. Hercales huffed beside him, and looked over his shoulder at their children. K.T and F.T were sitting on either side of the car, and Marianna was between them, swinging her legs and singing along to whatever song was on the radio at the moment.

“Of course I am. If I’m not, who’s going to be? Keep your eyes on the road,” Hercales mumbled as Sadiq shot him a glance.

“My point is, I was doing all kinds of crazy stuff when I was their age,” Sadiq pointed out. “I did stuff way worse than sneaking out to see my lover.”

“Don’t remind me,” Hercales sighed. “The last thing I want is them replicating the days of your youth.”

“Mama, I know you said no talking, but what did Baba do?” F.T asked. “Was he really as crazy as you said?”

Hercales rubbed at his head. “Your Baba was… something, when he was young. Always looking for new countries to conquer and places to go.”

“I traveled a lot when I was your age,” Sadiq said, starting to turn his head to look back at his children before Hercales pulled his head back forcefully in front of him. “But then, I had huge armies to control, places to be, stuff like that.”

“Can I have a big army, too, Mama?” Marianna piped up from the middle. “I want one!”

“No, you can’t,” Hercales answered candidly. “You don’t need a big army. Besides, your Baba tends to exaggerate how big his things are anyway.”

Sadiq choked, but recovered quickly as he pulled into the driveway. “Hey look, we’re here!” He said quickly, trying to divert the subject (and doing so successfully for once).

“You two, I expect nothing less than immediate obedience from you today,” Hercales said once they were all out of the car. K.T and F.T nodded. “You’re to keep an eye on your sister. Got it?”

The twins groaned loudly, and Marianna squealed with excitement, reaching up to tug on their hoodie strings again. “Yay! I get to meet your lovers!”

“Only if you keep your mouth shut,” K.T grumbled. Hercales shot him a scathing glare, and K.T gulped, then added, “I-I mean, of course you can.”

The family started to make their way to the front door, before Sadiq caught Hercales by the shoulder and pulled him back a bit.

“So, you really don’t want them being like me?” Sadiq asked. There was a half-smile on his face, but it seemed forced.

Hercales sighed. “It’s not like that. You know this, we’ve talked about this before. I just want them staying out of trouble.”

Sadiq shrugged. “Right, right.” He stepped inside after that, effectively ending their conversation, and Hercales followed him.

Almost immediately, K.T was suddenly pulled aside by Teddy, who looked more than a little worried. “K.T,” he hissed once their parents were out of earshot. “Do they know?”

“They know I snuck out, they don’t know about you specifically,” K.T whispered back. “I accidentally told them about Maria, though.”

“Oh, geez,” Teddy said, rubbing at his forehead.

“Yeah, and I gotta get back to my family, unfortunately me and F.T have to watch Mari for the day,” K.T said lowly.

“Wait… K.T, why don’t we just tell ‘em about us?”

* * *

 

“Akane~ I missed you so-o much!”

Akane giggled as Romulus ran over to her, throwing his arms around her as soon as she walked in the door. He planted a kiss on each of her cheeks in greeting, ignoring Zheng as he fumed some distance away.

“It’s only been a few days, silly,” Akane laughed, giving Romulus a hug in return. “But I missed you, too.”

“Did you think about me? I thought about you!” Romulus pulled back, but held onto Akane’s hands. “Well… I think about you all the time, so I guess that doesn’t really count.”

“Hey! Stop getting all touchy-feely with my little sister, Romulus,” Zheng said, stomping over to his sister and her ‘boyfriend.’ “She’s a beautiful, delicate flower and you don’t deserve her!”

“Zheng,” Akane whined. Still, Romulus didn’t let go of her hands.

“It’s okay, Akane, Zheng just doesn’t understand our love,” Romulus declared.

Some distance away, Kiku was sitting on the couch with Feliciano and Arthur as they chatted idly.

“Please, excuse my son’s behavior,” Kiku said quietly, bowing his head. “He is… rather protective of his sister.”

“No, no, it’s okay,” Feliciano chirped, patting Kiku on the shoulder. “I understand! And they’re just kids anyway, we don’t have anything to worry about, right~? If I had a little sister I’d be protective of her, too! And we all know how protective Lovino is of me!”

“I suppose you have a point there… but I do wish all of our children would get along,” Kiku sighed. “After all, we are still good friends, even after all this time.” His eyes wandered to the T.V for a moment, then winced as a particularly brutal tackle happened. “American football is so violent…”

“That’s what makes it fun, dude!” Alfred called from the other couch. “It just wouldn’t be the same without all the tackling and fighting!”

“Yes, of course,” Kiku mumbled, then looked down as Akane, Romulus, and Zheng ran up to him. “What is it?”

“Can we go play outside?” Akane asked. “Romulus learned how to do a cartwheel and he wants to show me!”

“Of course you can.” Kiku smiled, then looked over at Zheng. “You keep an eye on them, alright?”

Zheng beamed. “Alright, Okaa-san!” He ran off after his sister and Romulus, who were gleefully making their way towards the back door.

“Ah, to be young and in love,” Yao sighed next to him, leaning back a bit in his seat. “Do you remember when we first dated?”

Kiku blushed. “It was so long ago now, I barely remember it.” Before the birth of the twins, Kiku and Yao had been dating for some time. They hadn’t always been a loving couple, but the past few years had been good to them.

Yao put an arm around his husband’s waist and smiled. “They really grow up fast, don’t they? Not as fast as we had to, but I still remember when they were tiny!”

“Sometimes I miss those days,” Kiku admitted, turning his head to watch the children play outside through the window.

“Maybe you guys should have another baby, too! Ludwig and I were talking about it,” Feliciano piped up. “Wouldn’t that be fun if we all had little ones at the same time again?”

“Feliciano!” Ludwig exclaimed.

Over the ensuing noise, Kiku sighed. Some things never changed.


End file.
